His Mountain, Her Frozen Grave

We were caught in a blizzard on Mount Rainier. I was with my fiancé, Garrett Hayes, and several of his colleagues from Veridian Dynamics, one of whom was a woman named Jenna Miller.

In the middle of the night, I woke up freezing, my body shaking uncontrollably. My top-of-the-line down sleeping bag, rated for minus thirty-five degrees, was gone. In its place was a flimsy blanket.

By the faint glow of the camp light, I saw Jenna curled up in my sleeping bag, fast asleep. Garrett had zipped his own sleeping bag to hers, creating a warm double bag for the two of them.

I shoved him hard with my numb hands, my teeth chattering. "Why is she in my sleeping bag?"

Garrett sat up abruptly. He pulled me aside and hissed, "Keep your voice down, Cassidy. Jenna's new to this, and she's not feeling well. You're an experienced climber and in great shape. Show a little team spirit. Just tough it out for one night."

I pointed to my feet, which had already lost all feeling. "So I'm supposed to freeze to death just so the two of you can be cozy?"

He frowned. "God, Cassidy, can you stop being so dramatic? It's just a sleeping bag. Can't you think about the team for once?"

I let out a hollow laugh. The bitter cold turned the tears to ice the moment they left my eyes.

I didn't say another word. I just crawled back to my corner, grabbed the satellite phone, and called my brother, Cole. He's the captain of Avalanche Apex, the federal special search and rescue team.

"Cole, I'm on the north slope of Mount Rainier. I'm sending you my coordinates. Come get me. Now. And listen carefully—there's only one victim."

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1

Moments later, the piercing shriek of the storm alarm split the air outside the tent.

Garrett stormed in and snatched the satellite phone from my hand, his eyes blazing with fury.

"You called for a rescue?" he snarled. "Do you have any idea what that means? We'll be all over the news! The Veridian executive program will be a disaster! My career is over!"

He was too consumed by his anger to notice my deathly pale face or the violent tremors wracking my body.

"You went behind my back?" he roared. "Are you trying to ruin me?"

He grabbed my shoulders and shook me hard, my stiff body slamming against the icy rock wall. The impact snuffed out the last ember of warmth I had left.

I curled into a ball, desperately trying to knead some feeling back into my numb feet.

My voice was a faint whisper. "The blizzard is getting worse. We could be buried alive. I'm already hypothermic, Garrett. What's wrong with calling for help?"

Before Garrett could answer, Jenna peeked her head out of my sleeping bag, her voice deceptively soft. "Cassidy, don't make such a big deal out of nothing. Aren't you supposed to be an experienced climber? You can't handle a little cold without crying for a rescue?"

She let out a soft sigh. "If word gets out, we'll be the laughingstock of the entire Seattle climbing scene."

"And you know how important this summit is for Garrett. It's the final test before his promotion. Do you really want to destroy all that just because you're a little uncomfortable?"

"Are you really that selfish? Or does his future just mean nothing to you?"

Her voice was honey-sweet, but every word was a poison-tipped icicle.

Garrett's other colleagues, the sycophants who had come along to witness his triumph, immediately turned on me.

"Cassidy, that's so selfish. You only ever think about yourself."

"Exactly. We're a team. Garrett said you're the pro here. You've got this."

The cold seared my lungs, but their words cut deeper than the wind.

I yanked up my pant leg, revealing an ankle swollen to an ugly, bluish-purple, the skin as hard and cold as stone.

"Are you all blind?" I shrieked. "My foot is frostbitten! Do you still think I'm being dramatic?"

An unnerving silence filled the tent, broken only by the howl of wind and snow battering the fabric.

Jenna shrank back into Garrett's arms, avoiding my gaze.

"So what?" Garrett finally broke the silence, his tone chillingly indifferent. "That doesn't mean the whole world has to revolve around you."